A state television broadcast quoting military sources stated that Mr. Prabhakaran had been shot and killed along with two of his deputies in the Mullivaikal district while fleeing the war zone in an ambulance. The announcement followed the news that the military had surrounded Prabhakaran in a 100-meter square patch of jungle in the northeast of the country.

According to the Sri Lankan media, Prabhakaran’s son and several other leaders of the Tamil Tiger movement have also been killed. The claims have not been independently verified as reporters are barred from entering the war zone and the LTTE has yet to confirm the death of its leader. Meanwhile, there are conflicting accounts of how Prabhakaran was killed.

According to The Guardian, Prabhakaran had previously instructed his bodyguards “to kill him and burn his body beyond recognition rather than allow his capture.” An explosion in a bunker on Sunday “prompted speculation that Prabhakaran and other senior commanders may have killed themselves” since Tamil Tigers are trained to commit suicide rather than be captured.